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A disregard for calories during sampling: Exploring the “samples don’t count” effect
Department of Marketing and International Business, Iona College, Hagan School of Business, New Rochelle, USA
Department of Marketing, Baruch College, Zicklin School of Business, New York, USA
Department of Marketing, Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
- 1 Department of Marketing and International Business, Iona College, Hagan School of Business, New Rochelle, USA
- 2 Department of Marketing, Baruch College, Zicklin School of Business, New York, USA
- 3 Department of Marketing, Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
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Abstract
Product sampling is an important part of food retailing promotion. We explore how food sampling affects individuals’ total caloric estimates of a consumption episode. In a field study, at a small self-serve frozen yogurt store, 144 participants were randomly assigned to either a control or samples’ condition. Analysis of variance showed that individuals who had no or one sample overestimated the number of calories they were consuming, while those who had two or more samples underestimated their caloric intake.
KeywordsSamplingCalorie EstimationFood Intake
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